Updated: Wednesday, February 19, 2025
Join IvyWise college admissions and test prep experts to learn about the current standardized testing landscape. They will cover topics including:
By Carl F., IvyWise Master Tutor
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, standardized tests are an important part of college admissions, especially with more schools going back to requiring test scores. While test prep can certainly help you improve your score by a lot, mastering a few key skills can make all the difference when it comes to achieving your goal score on the SAT or ACT. I recommend focusing on these three skills.
Right away, I will concede that learning grammar rules may be the last piece of advice you want to hear. Likely, you learned this stuff back in the day, but if you don’t take a little time to familiarize yourself, you might be paying for this oversight come test day. Most of my students, at least before I meet them, trust in their grammatical intuition. This yields uneven results.
The reason for that is a big misconception about the Reading and Writing section (SAT) or the English section (ACT). We assume that because the topic is language arts, there is all this nuance and opinion that is present in English class when we are debating the artistic merits of a novel. These tests are not school. Huh? I’ll say it again for the people in the back. THESE TESTS ARE NOT SCHOOL! In fact, they are very unlike school, and nowhere is this more apparent than on this section of your preferred standardized test. It’s right there in the name — standardized.
Do you know what else is standardized? The rules of the English language. The SAT and ACT test a very specific and finite list of rules related to things like subject-verb agreement, sentence structure, and punctuation usage. Ultimately, it’s very logical. If the rule is violated — it usually is — correct it. Your intuition may be right, but you’re not a grammar robot, so you likely don’t speak perfect English. So, take some time to review a test prep book, Khan Academy, or some simple phonics lessons, and get familiar. Your score will shoot up.
Bonus: Learning grammar rules will also improve your writing, which will matter a lot when it’s time to write your college essay.
This is more about reviewing skills you should have already mastered but may not have used in a while.
Most students sit for their first SAT sometime during junior year. The problem with this is that the problems in the SAT Math section look nothing like the math you’re currently working on in school. In some cases, students are engaging with concepts they may not have seen since the eighth or ninth grade if they are currently taking pre-calc or trig. There’s nothing like that in the SAT. The ACT Math section goes a little deeper into a student’s math journey, but it still helps to take a stroll down your linear memory lane — stop and smell the y=mx+b.
A great place to start is the reference table given at the beginning of every SAT section — which you can access on the practice tests. It’s there for a reason. The math concepts particularly in the first row may be a distant memory, but we need to return them to the forefront of our minds.
Reading comprehension is the section across the SAT (and to a lesser extent ACT) that takes the longest for students to see big score gains. Help yourself by working your critical thinking muscles as much as you can. This means you should read, of course — preferably outside of class — but not all reading materials are created equally.
What should you read? Good novels, like the ones that might be found referenced on AP English exams, are a great place to start. Check out recommendations from the IvyWise summer reading list, too. Some of us aren’t wired for such long-form reading, so thankfully short stories also exist.
The habit of reading good literature helps our critical thinking and perceptive analytical skills, which are also valuable outside of standardized tests. An even more direct way to engage is with the type of writing most prevalent on these tests: argumentative writing. This can be found in high-level newspaper and magazine articles. Look up which publications have recently won awards for their level of journalism, and let your own personal preferences take you the rest of the way.
A great standardized test score can help you stand out in the competitive college admissions process — even if the school is test-optional. The SAT and ACT aren’t going anywhere any time soon, so it’s important for college-bound high school students to stay fresh with their test prep.
At IvyWise, our test prep tutors work with students year-round to help them identify and prepare for the test that’s the best fit for them. Learn more about our tutoring and test prep services.
Starting Early and Working Smart Can Help International Students Get Ahead on Standardized Tests
By Richard, IvyWise Master Tutor
When it comes to getting a great score on the ACT or SAT, the process of preparing and studying for the exam can seem quite complicated, especially if students are applying from abroad and aren’t familiar with the test. Instead of stressing out, know it can be done—as long as students learn about the exam and create a testing strategy.
Junior year is a big testing year for college-bound students, and as they prepare for the SAT or ACT many students might not be taking the test for the first time. It’s not uncommon for students to take the SAT or ACT multiple times, but how many times is too many?
If you are planning to apply to a college or university in the US, chances are you’re going to have to take either the ACT or the SAT. At IvyWise we advise students to prep for one test – not both. So how do you decide which one is the best fit for you?
